Malaysia Largest Asset Managers to Buy UK Battersea Power Station for $2.23 Billion

Malaysia Largest Asset Managers to Buy UK Battersea Power Station for $2.23 Billion

2 of Malaysia’s largest asset managers, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia (EPF) have teamed up to acquire Battersea Power Station for $2.23 billion (£1.6 billion), creating a long-term asset management and ownership structure.

“ Malaysia’s Largest Asset Managers to Buy Battersea Power Station for $2.23 Billion “

With the transaction, PNB and EPF will own phase two of the bigger development project, which includes the heritage building itself, new headquarters for Apple and Circus West Village. The entire Battersea Power Station project consists of 42 acres and includes 4,364 new homes. Sime Property and SP Setia remain the developers of the other five phases of the development, which is due to be completed by 2028. The site was first acquired by Malaysian shareholders in September 2012.

Battersea Power Station was first opened in 1933. Due to the World War II, the building was only completed in 1953. At its height, the power station supplied 20% of London’s electrical power including serving the war rooms and Buckingham Palace. The building stopped producing power in 1983.

The Battersea Power Station Grade II* listed building is currently approximately half way through a comprehensive refurbishment / reconstruction that will complete in late 2020. The five-year project is the largest historic building project ever undertaken in the UK and when finished, will become the heart of the wider 42-acre mixed use scheme.

On completion, the building will be approximately 25% residential use including over 250 apartments, the majority of which have already been pre-sold. A further 25% is new office space which has already been pre-let to Apple in one of London’s largest ever office pre-lets. The remaining balance of the building will be retail and leisure accessed from the two historic turbine halls, the leasing programme of which will commence this year.

Battersea Power Station was first opened in 1933. However, due to the break out of World War II, the building did not complete until 1953. During operation, it supplied one fifth of London’s electrical power including serving the war rooms and Buckingham Palace. The building finally stopped producing power in 1983 and has ever since undergone a number of failed schemes to preserve the much-loved structure.

Incorporated on 17 March 1978, PNB was conceived as a pivotal instrument of the Government’s New Economic Policy to promote share ownership in the corporate sector among the Bumiputera (son of the soil), and to develop opportunities for deserving Bumiputera professionals to participate in the creation and management of wealth.Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) has emerged as the country’s premier investment institution. As an investment vehicle for the Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra (YPB), the core function of PNB is to evaluate, select and acquire a sound portfolio of shares in limited companies with growth potential. Being an organisation that specialises in investment, PNB in essence acts as a warehouse, whereby shareholdings in these limited companies are placed in trust funds and sold to unit holders in the form of smaller units.

From its first unit trust scheme, the Sekim Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) launched on 20 April 1981, right up to its latest product, Amanah Saham Bumiputera 2 (ASB 2) launched on 2 April 2014, PNB through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad, has been instrumental in creating a paradigm shift and changing the mindset of Malaysians, particularly the Bumiputera community, in the areas of savings, investment and financial planning, and the way they view risks and returns on investment. The overwhelming response from Malaysians from all walks of life and income strata towards PNB’s unit trust funds has been manifested in PNB’s ability to mobilise more than 13 million accounts to date.

The EPF is a social security institution formed according to the Laws of Malaysia, Employees Provident Fund Act 1991 (Act 452) which provides retirement benefits for members through management of their savings in an efficient and reliable manner. The EPF also provides a convenient framework for employers to meet their statutory and moral obligations to their employees.

The EPF, as at September 2016 , has a total of 14.72 million members. The total number of active and contributing members is 6.83 million. The total number of active employers is 541,503.